Natural Creamer

So after finding an acceptable alternative to my beloved Splenda in this post, I got down to the other part of my coffee ritual - creamer. At this time, my office has no refrigerator so that means no regular creamer or almond milk. For a while that meant powdered artificial creamer: full of preservatives, chemicals and lyophilized fat. I'm not one to poo poo all kinds of artificialness, the way our world is today, it's hard to get away from it. My proposal is to control the things I can, which is my coffee creamer, something I have 2 cups of every day. The cheetos I eat every now and then? Totally artificial and I love them, but I don't eat them that often, so I'm ok with that.

After a brief look a the resources on the internet, I found very little - use powdered milk, which I have very few horrible memories from childhood and powdered milk is one of them. The few times we ran out of regular milk my mother tried to substitute reconstituted milk in it's place. BLEH. Powdered milk has a very distinctive aftertaste and I wasn't sure if my coffee would be able to cover it. I looked online and found powdered rice milk and was determined to find a way to make this work.

 

 

I also happened to have protein powder and decided to try that as well. I tried different combinations of things:

• just milk - bleh, there's that aftertaste
• just rice - ok, but grainy
• 1/2 milk, 1/2 rice - better, the aftertaste is covered up, still kinda grainy
• 1/2 protein, 1/2 milk - ok, still some solubility issues
• 1/2 protein, 1/2 rice -  ok, not as soluble
• 1/2 protein, 1/4 rice, 1/4 milk - ok

I added pumpkin pie spice to the mix for flavor but in the end may have added to my grittiness issues. In general, I liked the creaminess from the milk and I liked the flavor of the rice (it had vanilla added as well). So a 50:50 mix of rice to milk seems to be the best here but in terms of solubility, still does not stand up to that artificial stuff. Time to bring in the reinforcements:

spoon vs. frother

I decided a milk frother would provide the necessary agitation to help with my solubility problem plus there is the added benefit that it actually froths powdered milk!

It's not the best thing ever, but it's not the worst. I've been drinking this in my coffee for about a month now and I'm used to it. So for the time being, I get frothy coffee with natural sweetener and powdered milk. It's growing on me. I also feel pretty good about myself for taking this small step away from artificial and toward natural. Now I need to figure out what to do with these...

Adventures in the Country

I have finally found the advantages to living in the rural/country areas...one is farm fresh eggs from a friend with chickens. The other is adventures in the most unusual of places.

Last night I had the opportunity to learn Baltic folk dancing from a man that is considered the authority in the field of Baltic folk dancing. I found out about this from a coworker who is Bulgarian and has been in this area for some time. She has hooked up with some people from her home country and they get together on a regular basis...in a barn. That's right, I said it. I went to a Baltic Barn Dance last night, and I had a blast!!

Inside of the Barn

Mariya and Rachel in the dance

The potluck spread

Mariya, Our Instructor, Myself, Rachel

We danced for hours and learned many dances from Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia and more! It's interesting to note that most of these dances were very similar in principle but each had their own nuances. What a fun night and I hope that this becomes a regular occurrence!!

On a personal note, I loved that the table had a real tablecloth and real plates and silverware. Also when people got there, they all knew where this stuff was and got it out. It was just so homey. If there is anything I can take away from this, I would hope that I have a group of people that I know well enough to invite over for dancing, potluck, wine and laughing.

Cooking for Babies

I love to cook for people. One of my biggest disappointments at this time is that I don't have anyone but myself to cook for on a regular basis. So when one of my coworkers decides to pop out a few babies, I get the opportunity to make casseroles. (By the way, Benjamin and Anthony are doing wonderfully well for being a bit early)

A casserole can be thought of more as a formula - sauce, pasta/tortilla, cheese. All good casseroles have this. If your casserole has pasta that needs to be cooked while in the oven, make sure your sauce is on the watery side. Otherwise a thicker sauce will hold your casserole together while it bakes. The other nice thing about casseroles is it is a good way to clean out the pantry.

Since my friend had 2 babies, I decided to make 2 casseroles. The first was a Poblano Corn Casserole and the second was a Ravioli Lasagna. Yum yum yum.

Poblano Corn Casserole (based on this recipe)

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 poblano peppers, deseeded and diced
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 (18 oz) can Progresso™ Recipe Starters™ Creamy Three Cheese Cooking Sauce
• 9 six-inch flour tortillas
• 1/2 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese

Heat oven to 375°F. Spray a 2-quart baking dish with non-stick cooking spray and place onto an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet.

Heat oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add poblano peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, 3-4 minutes or until softened. Add corn and cook another minute. 

Turn heat to low then stir in Three Cheese Cooking Sauce and cook one minute. Ladle enough poblano and corn sauce into the bottom of baking dish to cover bottom. Arrange three tortillas on top then ladle more sauce to cover tortillas. Repeat until all tortillas have been used. 

Top casserole with leftover sauce and shredded cheese.Bake casserole 16-18 minutes or until cheese has melted and sauce is bubbling. Switch oven to broil then broil casserole 30 seconds to 1 minute until cheese on top is golden brown.

For some reason I had this cooking sauce in my pantry...so I specifically looked for a recipe using it. Sounded good to me! Hope it freezes well.

Next up is Ravioli Lasagna, based on this recipe from Taste of Home. Since I was in State College last weekend, I ventured to Fasta & Ravioli Co. for a three cheese ravioli. My friend, Patty, also bought chocolate gnocchi there and we made this...

Chocolate Gnocchi with Salted Caramel Sauce and Grand Marnier Whipped Cream

Ravioli Lasagna

1 lb ground turkey

1 pint roasted tomatoes (see here for recipe)

1 can diced tomatoes

1 package Fasta Three Cheese Ravioli

Shredded mozzarella

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Brown ground turkey. Meanwhile put canned and roasted tomatoes in food processor (or in Magic Bullet in 2 batches) and buzz until smooth. Add to turkey. Season sauce to taste with salt, pepper, dried herbs and sugar. 
3. Layer sauce and frozen ravioli in a prepared casserole dish. Top with mozzarella.
4. Bake 40-45 min, or until heated through and cheese has melted. (I would suggest that you cover the dish with foil for the first 30 min then uncover for the last 10-15 minutes).

**Word of caution** I have not actually baked these casseroles since I gave them away, so cooking times may vary from the posted recipes...now go cook!!

Slow Roasting Veggies

There's something about throwing a baking pan in the oven and not having to worry about it that appeals to me in this windy, wintery weather. I've heard that slow roasting tomatoes concentrates their flavor and right about this time of year, even those "vine ripened" tomatoes taste like nothing. So after making this Israeli Cous Cous, Broccoli and Tomato side, I thought it would be interesting to add roasted tomatoes to it the second go around.

Boring, flavorless tomatoes turn to into rich, tasty ones after an hour in the oven.

 

Once again, I'm impatient, so many recipes I found on the internet suggested you bake for 2-3 hours. These were baked for 1 hour-ish and were very yummy. I made a larger batch and turned half of them into a sauce for a Ravioli Lasagna (recipe to come).

Slow Roasted Tomatoes

1 pint cherry tomatoes

olive oil

salt/pepper

jarred garlic

fresh rosemary

1.  Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
2. Cut tomatoes in half and place in a bowl. Drizzle with oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Add 1-2 spoonfuls of garlic and 1-2 sprigs of rosemary. Mix.
3. Place on a parchment lined, rimmed baking sheet cut side up.
4. Bake for 1-3 hours, depending on how much time you have to spend and how dry you want your tomatoes. 
5. Enjoy!!

 Another of my veggie loves is kale. I usually saute it with some garlic and add vinegar at the end, yum! In this particular batch I decided to utilize my oven again. I must be cold or something since I am really enjoying having the oven on. Also, on a side note, I am always amazed at how much kale cooks down!

 

Big 'ol bunch of kale, roasted in the oven turns into crispy chips!

 

Well, in this picture, they look somewhat shriveled...some were crispy, I swear. If I had 2 pans these may have turned out crispy-er. Still love kale and ended up putting these in a quesadilla for dinner one night and in potsticker soup another night. I seem to be getting a handle on this cooking for one stuff...

Kale Chips
1 bunch kale
olive oil
salt/pepper

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees
2. Remove kale from stems and tear into pieces. Drizzle with olive oil (or spray with olive oil cooking spray) and add salt/pepper to taste - Remember that the kale will shrink so add less salt than you think you need.
3. Spread into a single layer on a lined baking pan (or two) and cook for 20 minutes, turning half way through.

If you cooked these right, the kale should literally melt in your mouth, sooo good!! This is the kind of cooking my mom calls "primary cooking". You take raw ingredients and cook them so that you can put them in something else. It's a meal starter! Now, go eat your (roasted) veggies!!

Israeli Cous Cous with Broccoli and Tomatoes

True to form, I see something I've only heard about at the store and I have to buy it and figure out what to do with it. So when I was at Wegmans a few weeks ago, I saw Israeli Cous Cous in the bulk section and had to get some. In case you're thinking "what the heck is the difference between regular cous cous and this fancy kind from Israel?" Well, I'll tell you, it's much bigger and looks like this:

Kinda like tapioca looking but made of pasta. After looking at various recipes on the internet, I decided to make a pilaf of sorts by toasting the cous cous first then adding chicken stock and cooking until soft. I then had roasted broccoli in the fridge and some cherry tomatoes, and viola! Yummy dinner side. Also quick to put together, another bonus!!

Israeli Cous Cous with Roasted Broccoli and Tomatoes

• olive oil
• 3/4c Israeli Cous Cous
• 1 1/2 c chicken stock
• salt/pepper
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes
• 3 cups roasted broccoli
• 2 T chopped parsley

1. Heat olive oil in a small sauce pan (a splash or so). Add cous cous and toast until slightly brown, stirring often. When pasta is brown enough to your liking add chicken stock and bring to a simmer. (I happen to be very impatient when it comes to browning, so my pasta was only slightly brown) Turn heat to low, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the stock is absorbed and the cous cous is soft. (For info on how to make your own stock, see this post.)
2. While the pasta is cooking, cut tomatoes in half and chop broccoli. I roast broccoli in a similar manner to my asparagus, which you can see by clicking here. 
3. Once pasta is cooked, add tomatoes, parsley and broccoli. Taste for seasoning and add salt/pepper to your taste. If I am cooking something in stock, I won't add salt until the end, since there is nothing worse than an overly salty dish. 
4. Enjoy!

Limoncello Week 6

Time for the weekly update...

Yup. 3 weeks to go!!

Chickpea Pasta

I guess I've looked at enough recipes that you just know what will taste good and what won't. I also think of recipes as mere suggestions and if I don't want to do a step, then I won't!! So I started with this recipe from Bon Appetit. It looked and sounded wonderful. I also have to confess that I usually only read half of recipes before I decide to make them...well then I find out things halfway through, like the rosemary I bought was for a rosemary-garlic oil. (well if I actually read the title of the recipe, maybe I could have figured that out, oh well) It just so happens that I have garlic oil, so I popped a spring of rosemary in the pot while it was boiling down...I thought it was a perfect way to handle things.

Essence of Rosemary

The other variation I made is this:

Italian bacon AKA Pancetta

I added about a half pound of pancetta that I've had in the freezer. I assume this pasta was to be a vegetarian meal but who can resist pork? Especially when it is cured? I cut it up into pieces that were about the same size as the chickpeas and rendered it first, then added it back to the pot when I added the garbanzo beans. Here's the final product, it was ridiculously creamy thanks to blended chickpeas and no cream or cheese!

Nom Nom Nom

Ditalini with Chickpeas and Pancetta (adapted from Bon Appetit)

• 1/2 lb pancetta, chopped
• 1 medium onion, quartered
• 1 medium carrot, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 celery stalk, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 6 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
• Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, rinsed
• 1 pound ditalini or elbow macaroni
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• garlic olive oil 

•  
  Pulse onion, carrot, celery, whole garlic cloves, parsley in a food processor until finely chopped; transfer to a small bowl and set aside. Wipe out food processor bowl and set aside.
  Render pancetta over medium heat, until crispy. Remove from pan to a paper towel lined plate. Pour off all but 1T drippings.
• Add reserved vegetable mixture to pancetta drippings, season with salt, and cook, stirring often, until golden, 8-10 minutes. Stir tomato paste and 1 cup water in a small bowl to combine; add to pot. Cook, scraping up any browned bits from bottom of pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until liquid has almost evaporated, 5-8 minutes.
• Add pancetta, chickpeas, rosemary and 2 cups water to pot and simmer for 15 minutes to let flavors meld. Transfer 1 cup chickpea mixture to food processor; purée until smooth, then stir back into sauce to thicken.
• Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 1 1/2 cups pasta cooking liquid.
• Add pasta and 1/2 cup pasta cooking liquid to sauce and stir to coat. Increase heat to medium and continue stirring, adding more pasta cooking liquid as needed, until sauce coats pasta.
• Serve with drizzle of garlic oil
  
  
  
  
  

Tiramisu Cupcakes

I have to tell you about my preceptor. He's the most selfless human I know. Last fall we had a patient who was discharged from our service after she had a bone marrow transplant. She left without her anti-rejection medication because it wasn't getting filled quickly enough at our hospital pharmacy. He found out about this and coordinated getting the medication filled and then drove to her home to deliver it. The thing was, he drove to Wellsboro from Danville to do this. Wellsboro is 1.5 hours away, so 3 hours out of his way and of course this was on a Friday. This is but one of the many selfless things this man does.

My coworker and I decided that he needed recognition for this and decided to nominate him for employee of the month and a special recognition. After months of hearing nothing, he finally gets recognized at our staff meeting this week, with a sticker. Boo. So I decided that I was going to make my own recognition party by making these Tiramisu Cupcakes I recently found through one of the blogs I follow. Who wouldn't want a coffee flavored cupcake? Plus these were sooo good!! I think that I would use this frosting again for other desserts, delicious!!

Tiramisu Cupcakes (adapted from Debbiessweets)

• • yellow cake mix (and ingredients as listed on box)
  • 1 cup brewed coffee

• Mascarpone Cheese Icing

  • 1 cup heavy whipping cream
  • 1 8 oz. package of mascarpone cheese
  • 1 cup confectioners sugar
  • cocoa for dusting
  • bittersweet chocolate shavings for garnish

• 1. Bake cake mix into cupcakes per instructions on box. Line cupcakes with foil liners.
  2. As cupcakes are cooling make coffee
  3. Next, using a skewer, poke holes into the cupcakes. Be sure to poke several holes so the coffee absorbs. Use a spoon to pour a teaspoon sized spoon of coffee onto each cupcake, one at a time, and repeat the process until the cup of coffee was gone.
  4. While the cupcakes are soaking up the coffee, make the icing. Using an electric mixer, beat heavy cream until it forms stiff peaks. In a separate bowl, beat together mascarpone cheese and sugar. Once the mixture if fully creamed together, add the whipped cream in three increments, beating until completely incorporated at each interval.
  5. Ice cupcakes using a piping bag or a food storage bag. Dust top with cocoa powder and bittersweet chocolate shavings for garnish
   

Cupcake stabbing device, called an onion friend

 I was lucky enough to be able to make these in my friend Patty's kitchen. Cooking is always more fun when it is with friends! We laughed all afternoon and baked up a storm! We also had great Middle Eastern dinner from a place in Williamsport called Crown Fried Chicken (don't let the name fool you, this is THE place for shwarma, gyros and felafel). Everyone should go there!! The only problem is that this place is really a take out joint, so it would be a little hard for me to go there often. They do deliver and they said they would deliver to Danville for $40...anyone wanna make an order??

cupcake quality control, Laila

Limoncello Week 5

Well the week has flown by!! Here's the next installment in the limoncello saga...

Only 4 weeks to go!!

Limoncello Week 4

Here's the limoncello on it's 4th week in the world...

 

Also, because I said I would, here is a picture of Patty's delicious Lemon Chiffon Cake with Lemon Buttercream. If anyone wants the recipe, I bet if we ask REAL nice, she'll share it with us...

 

P.S. I really like your sparkly tupperware, I may steal it!!

Return to DC

Unlike Indianapolis, I have spent some time bumming around Washington, DC. I had a 6 week rotation at the FDA while I was in Pharmacy School, so I know that I would LOVE to live in this area. The Smithsonian, the culture, the area, the Smithsonian, did I already say that? :) So with an interview on Monday and a barn-burner week I made my way down to DC on Saturday, before the snow was to hit Danville.

I get to my hotel and lo and behold, the hotel is directly next to my interview. I wish I could say that was planned, but it was purely by accident that this happened!

Today, I was up early (as usual, I am just not a person that can sleep in) and took advantage of the hotel gym. Then I was off to the Metro and into the city. A light snow had fallen so I wanted to check out the Korean War Memorial, as I hear with snow, it looks more real. Unfortunately, by the time I made it out there most of the snow had melted. Still very moving though.

Next it was on to a memorial I have not seen before, the Martin Luther King, Jr Memorial. The last time I was in DC, they were still building this memorial. It was very good. I happened to be there when the park ranger was talking and the memorial was based off a quote from the end of his "I have a dream" speech - "hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope". So there's a big peice of what is to be the "Mountain of Despair" and the "stone of hope" has the sculpture of Dr King.

What's also interesting is that the "stone of hope" is not directly in front of where it used to be, it is turned and to the side. This way no one will mistake that it would go back to it's old place. I'm really glad I was able to stop by!!

Next was a walk to the Smithsonian Castle, which had an exhibit about photography on the Civil War battlefront. Very nice. They focused on a type of photography at the time that was in 3D called "stereoviews". Apparently up to 70% of photographs of this time were done this way. You even need those silly red and blue glasses to see them. I have to say that they really made the photos come alive!

Finally it was lunch time and true to form, I went to the National Museum of the American Indian for their food court. Once again, does not disappoint.

It was more expensive than your regular lunch, about $18 with my Smithsonian member discount, but I didn't have to pay for access to the monuments or museums I went to, so I'm ok with spending that!! Yum, yum, yum.

Now I'm back at my hotel getting ready for Super Bowl. I've got my UNR shirt on in support of Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers!! It's probably a good thing I'm in my hotel room...since I am definitely in Ravens territory.